Suspect held as gunmen rob travellers, rape woman in Osun

A suspect was arrested after two vehicles travelling along the Ife/Osu Highway was attacked by armed robbers, who shot a driver and raped a female passenger.

A passenger in one of the two vehicles involved, who spoke to According to Metro on Thursday on the condition of anonymity for security reasons, said the incident occurred in the early hours of Wednesday between Ife and Osu communities in Osun State.

According to him, the robbers numbering about eight had stopped the commercial bus coming from Lagos and a private car, ordered the passengers to disembark and collected various sums of money from them.

“The robbers attacked two vehicles. A bus and one private car. I was traveling on the bus. Both vehicles were coming from Lagos. We were out of Ife but yet to reach the Osu community when our vehicles were stopped by the robbers. They were about eight in number and they carried guns.

“The driver of the bus was shot, but he didn’t die. He was injured. One of the passengers in the car, a woman was raped. They collected the money we had and our ATM cards. They made us transfer various amounts into their account. They later handed our cards to one of the gang members.

“But some passengers fled into the bush while all that was going on. They told us some people they saw wandering in the area that said robbers were operating nearby and security men were mobilised to the area.”

A few minutes after the robbers left, the source said he saw policemen, vigilante members and some men wearing the uniform of Nigeria Hunters and Forest Security Service, arriving and began to comb the area. According to him, they arrested one of the robbers who was taken away.

When contacted, the Osun State acting Police Public Relations Officer, Emmanuel Giwa-Alade, said a suspect had been arrested in connection with the crime.

“The incident happened. I got a briefing about it not long ago and we were able to apprehend one suspect. He is helping our investigation,” Giwa-Alade said.